White Plums
by Griever5
Summary: it's about Kenshin and Tomoe from when he was a kid until he net Tomoe and she died. erm...i'm still not used to writing in chapters so the whole story is in this chapter.


White Plums A scream shattered the silence. I stumbled as people yelled at me. "Run! Run!" And I ran. I ran and ran, but I made the mistake of looking back. I turned my head to see my cousin fall to the ground in a spray of blood. "No!" I turned around, lurching towards my cousin's fallen body. "Oh no you don't!" I was snatched up by one of the invaders. Suddenly he gave a grunt and dropped me. My sister flung her arms around me. She crouched over me, protecting me from these people who had raided my village. "Stupid woman!" They towered over her, sneering. "Please, please, spare the boy.please." She begged them to spare me, to leave me alone. I huddled in her arms shuddering. One of then grinned, raised his sword and drove it into my sister's back. The tip of the blade dug into the soft fabric of my clothing but I was unharmed. My sister gasped, blood spilling from her mouth. I remembered how she looked like at the moment, her pale orange hair falling over her eyes, the sun glaring into my eyes, surrounding her with a golden halo. The men heard something and looked away from us. Before I knew what was happening, they were lying in pools of blood around us. A tall, dark haired man stood towering over us. Sis rolled over, gasping again. She looked up at the man, eyes already glazing over. "Protect him." With a faint shudder, she was dead. The man looked at me, questioningly. Then he walked away. I stood up, dripping head to toe in blood, the dark red color of the blood mixing with my fiery colored hair. I started digging. I didn't know what else to do. Emptiness was forming inside me, a knot tying itself in my stomach. I dug and dug, dragging the bodies to the graves that I had dug for them. I lugged the body into the hole and kicked soil over it. I buried the whole village. It was then I realized I was the only survivor. My hands were rubbed raw and the skin had torn and was bleeding. The day turned to night, golden sky sinking to dark blue. But still I dug. By sunrise, I was exhausted, having buried everyone, making rough crosses out of the remains of the wooden houses. I sank to the ground, not knowing what to do. I heard something and turned. It was the man who had saved me from being killed the day before. He paused, observing the messy burial area and the rough crosses tied together with strips of cloth. He knelt down, tipping wine over the grave of his sister, which he was sitting next to, as a sign of respect. "Still here?" He sat down beside me, taking a sip from the bottle of wine that he held. I remained quiet. "Clam kid, aren't you? Just had your whole village murdered in front of your eyes and you just bury them and sit there." He eyed me for a while. I kept my head down, red bangs falling down my face. "Name?" He asked, prodding me slightly. I looked up finally. "Shinta." I whispered, not wishing to disturb the peace around me. The man stood up. "I'm Hiko. From now on, you'll be known as Kenshin." And that was how I became Himura Kenshin. 2 years later. I was learning swordsmanship from Hiko. Training was hard. By then, I was already 7 and Hiko thought it was the right age to start learning. We would fight everyday with wooden swords, training beside a waterfall. After a few months, I started to form a skill of my own. I called it Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. 5 years later. "Get out of my way, scum!" A gang stood in front of me, clearly drunk and wanting trouble. I stood there, staring at them, violet eyes flashing. "You asked for it, scum!" They charged at drawing their swords. I moved, jerking my sword from its sheath. I drove my blade into the stomach of one and slashed it across the chest of another. They were falling like flies, injured. "We'll get you yet!" They cried before running off to lick their wounds. I heard someone start clapping behind me. I spun around, alert and wary. "Very good." A formally dressed man was standing behind me. "I think skills such as your should be rewarded. Come with me and have a cup of tea." I followed him, not knowing why I did so. He invited me into his home and I sat at a table and drank tea. After a while of silence, he asked, "Have you killed before?" I shook my head. Hiko had always taught me to kill only if I had a reason. He nodded slowly and asked me a question that changed the course of my life forever. "Would you like to kill?" 3 years later. I was an assassin. Almost everyday, I would receive a black envelope that contained information on which I was to kill. I had worked like this for three years, killing and traveling. People started calling me Battuosai, the manslayer, the bringer of death and I lived up to my nickname. One night, I received a letter, which requested me to kill an official. I strolled down the street, hiding in the shadows. I passed a group of three men, the night guards of the house where the official lived. They were talking loudly, laughing. I ran forward, killing the first two before they knew what struck them. The third one was scared; I could see it in his eyes. He had short hair, tied into a bun. My blade snapped forward and he blocked it. I knew he didn't have much skill, the way he held the sword and the way he moved when fighting. The only thing keeping him alive now was. the fact that he had something to live for. He fought desperately; hoping to tired me out. He slashed forward and to my surprise, I felt a stinging pain burning on my cheek. I struck him again and again until he finally fell to the ground, a dark pool of blood spreading slowly around as he died. "No. I can't die.I will not die.my wife." He gasped, losing strength. "Tom-." I drove my sword into his body and he twitched and died. I raised my hand to my cheek. It was wet. I looked at my damp hand. Blood. The assassination went well and I treated myself to a drink a week later, when I received my pay. It was raining heavily. I sat in the eating-house, sipping wine. I don't know why I even drank wine. I hated it. It tasted like blood. Since I became an assassin, the wine tasted more and more like blood every time I drank it. I figured the scar that ran along my cheek, from below my left eye to my jaw. It was the scar that that guardsman I fought the other day gave me. I raised my head when I heard two men start to talk loudly to a lady sitting in the booth beside mine. "Hey, lady. Mind if we sit here?" The lady ignored them and continued sipping her wine. "Hey, don't you know who we are? Show us some respect!" One of them reached for his sword. In a flash, I was standing there, hand on hilt. "You draw your sword and you'll die." I said. They glared at me but backed down. I nodded, when all of the sudden I heard something. The clanking of chains was faint but I heard it anyway. I quickly left. I followed the sound until I reached an alley. A dark figure stood in front of me, blocking my way. "Vengeance is mine, Battuosai." He yanked forward his chain and I blocked it with my sword. His weapon was a long chain that had blades at each end. He leapt up into the air landing on a roof. I did the same and we fought. He struck me across the shoulder and knocked me off the roof. I felt his chains circling me, tightening around me. The long chain wrapped around my neck, arms and legs. I gasped for air as the chain jerked, cutting off my air supply. I struggled, and he leapt down. At the last moment, I pulled my arm up, which was holding one end of his chain, blade gleaming wetly in the night. My muscles strained against the chains and I finally tore free. The blade at the end of the chain sliced the man into half as he dropped from the roof, hoping to land on me. The two halves fell away, splattering me with blood. I heard footsteps and turned. It was the lady from the eating- house. She, too, was covered with blood. "Had she seen me kill the man?" I wondered. "I could kill her before she ran away." I decided. I glared at her in shock. Her long black hair fall to her waist and her beautiful sad eyes stared at me. She was holding an umbrella in one hand but it fell to the ground with a splash. "I wanted to thank you for helping me at the eating-house." Her eyes glazed over slightly and he gazed at the sky. "It's true then. You can make it rain blood." She fell forward and I caught her. She had fainted. I bought her back to the inn where I stayed. The hostess bought her to a room and cleaned her up. I sat down neat to the futon she was sleeping on, leaned against the wall and fell asleep. The next morning, I awoke to find the room empty beside myself. I hurried down the stairs and found her carrying a tray of food. "What are you doing?" I asked her. "What do you think?" she replied and walked off. I glared at her back. In the light, I could tell that she was older then me. "She's working here now. She asked if I needed help and I do." The hostess was standing behind me. I sighed and strode away. That day, I went out on a job and came back late. My clothes were spattered with blood. I stood at the washbasin and scrubbed my hands furiously. I scrubbed my hands until the skin tore and bleed. It reminded me of when I buried my village. I hated the smell of blood. Three years of doing this and I still hated it. I rubbed at my hands, trying to get rid of the smell of blood that hung heavily in the air. Later, I went up to the lady's room. She invited me in and I sat down, placed the knife I found in her clothes on the wooden floor. "This is yours?" She nodded and thanked me, keeping her knife. "How are you?" I asked. "Fine, thank you. I'm sorry I got drunk and caused you all this trouble, sir." I noticed she kept her head down all the time, staring at her hands that were in her lap. "Call me Kenshin." I was surprised at myself. I never told strangers my name. "I'm Tomoe." She replied quietly. The nest day, I was taking a nap in my room. I leaned against a pile of books, in a sitting position, my sword resting on my shoulder. I was sitting next to the open window and I could feel the gentle breeze blowing though my hair. The wind tugged playfully at my ponytail. I had long red hair that was usually tied up in a ponytail. I sighed, when I felt someone enter the room. My muscles tensed and the person knelt down and touched my scar. I leapt up, drawing my sword in one smooth movement and placed it at the intruder's throat. It was Tomoe. I remember seeing fear in her eyes; she was showing emotion. I shoved her away and she tumbled to the floor, knocking the pile of books down. "Sorry." I muttered when I realized a blanket was placed on my arm. "Thank you." I told her. "I thought you would be cold." She reached over and started picking up the fallen books. I nodded my thanks again. She paused and I looked at what she was staring at. It was an old black envelope that I got a few days ago but now, it was of no importance. I took the envelope from her, carefully watching for her reaction from the corner of my eye. She was unsurprised and continued picking up the books. When it was done she asked me, "How do you decide to kill people? Those innocent bystanders." I was shocked at this strange question. I finally answered. "I'll kill any one who was holding a weapon." I blinked at her thinking. "So she knows I'm an assassin." She looked at me, with those wonderful sad black eyes. "I see." She nodded, "So.would you kill me if I had a weapon?" I jerked my head up, startled. "Wait! No-!" but she had already left the room. I signed. It was not a good day. One day, I went for a walk long the river. It was peaceful and quiet. The birds chirping and the sharp smell of trees and grass were in the air. I stood at the bridge that was overlooking the river. I felt a presence join me and I knew it was Tomoe. We stood at the bridge in silence, enjoying the peace and quiet. I thought about earlier that day. My 'boss' had visited me that morning. He was the one who assigned me all my 'jobs'. He told me that there was a mission for me. I had to live as a farmer for maybe, a couple of months at this cottage located in countryside. He wanted me to go there and find someone else to go with me and act as my wife. I was alarmed at this request but it was my job after all. I had to do it. "Tomoe." I spoke up suddenly. I didn't know what made me say what I said next but I did. "Do you want to come and live with me?" We moved to the cottage a week later. She married me and I found out she was eighteen. I was so amazed; I spent an hour staring at her. She then asked me how old I was. I was embarrassed. I was fifteen. After weeks of living with her, I found it wasn't so bad. We rarely talked and the only sound around the household would be me chopping firewood or her cooking dinner. She then started trying to make me sleep lying down. I didn't really like it. After all, I spent my whole life, sleeping sitting up. Sometimes when she was sleeping, I would watch her. She was very beautiful and I often found myself thinking about how wonderful she was. "I could stay awake, just to hear you breathing, watch you smile while you're sleeping, while you're far away and dreaming. I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment forever. Where every moment spent with you, is a moment I treasure. But you'll never know, what I feel inside because there's no way that I know to say how much I love you. And if you'll only give me a chance." I fell asleep, a single crystal teardrop forming at the corner of my eye. The days passed and everything was as usual. I decided to bring Tomoe shopping. I waited for her outside chopping wood, deep in thought. Whenever I bought the axe slashing down to chop another piece of wood, the blade would flash. I saw images in my head, of all the murders I had committed. A sword gleaming in the dark as it sliced through human flesh. The screams and pleas of the people I killed as they died. She finally came out and apologized. Then we went out. I bought her to the shops and we ate there. We walked and Tomoe bought food to cook and other things. We visited a river nearby and stood there for a while, enjoying the view. The wind was blowing strongly and I had to help Tomoe climb up the slippery rocks when we climbing a steep hill. I bought her a mirror and we returned home. It started raining and she slipped and fell. I helped her up and supported her as we continued to walk home. One night, we were eating dinner when Tomoe suddenly asked. "You don't care do you?" I looked up. "What?" She sighed slowly. "You don't care where I come from or whatever. you never ask." I blinked. "Do you want me to ask?" she smiled, a faint smile. I shrugged and asked her what her family was like. She grew sad and told me that she lived in Edo with her father and brother, Enishi. She was going to be married to this man whom she loved a lot. He was a kind man but his job made him very busy as he used to work as a guard. Something prickled at the back of my mind but I ignored it. I asked her what happened and she started to cry. I immediately regretted asking. "He d-died." She sobbed. I moved over and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her. I felt her body close to me for the first time and the heat from her body warmed me too. She cried into my shoulder until she clammed down. She gently stroked my scar, taking deep breaths. I held her to me, feeling happy and content. "I will protect your happiness forever." She bowed her head. "Thank you." And we fell asleep in each other's arms. When I woke up, she was gone. A little black book was on the ground in front of me. I touched it cautiously. It was Tomoe's dairy. I quickly flipped through it, a sense of dread filling me. Phrases jumped out at me. Husband. killed. Battuosai. revenge. As I continued to read, I felt a pain start to burn in my chest. Destroy. happiness. like me. hate.him. I refused to read anymore. I threw the book down. I wanted to cry but somehow, I couldn't. A note fluttered out from the book. I read it, fury now boiling in my veins. I set out in a run and headed for the woods. It started snowing. I walked into the woods, walking and walking. A faint click caught my attention. I spun around, and a ninja was aiming for me with his sword. I blocked it in time and stabbed him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. "Where's Tomoe?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet. The ninja glared back in defiance. "Tell me!!" I roared, planting my foot on his chest wound and I swung my sword down and cut off his arms. He got up and nearly lost his balance. Blood gushed from the stumps that were his arms. He backed away and hooked his foot on something. The air exploded with fire. I managed to escape the explosion but got slightly injured in the process. I could feel warm blood flowing from my ear; maybe my eardrums got infected during the explosion. But still I walked on. I walked in the snow and it fell heavier. All I could think of was Tomoe. "Why? I had killed her husband.the one who gave me that scar. And she had married me.she could have killed me anytime. But she didn't.why did she go?" I thought about Tomoe, and how we meet in the shower of crimson rain. "Tomoe." I was tired.more tired then I ever had been. All I knew was that I had to save her. I was attacked by another ninja again. This one was strong. He had an axe and wood plies were thrown violently at me. I ducked but one caught me in the head. I heard an odd ringing in my head as sharp jabs of pain priced through my numbness. I collapsed and the ninja advanced on me. A desperation rose in me. I needed to save Tomoe. With a war cry, I pulled myself to my feet and attacked. Then something hit me from behind. Something with long arms and legs grabbed me and slammed me into a tree trunk. I gasped, pain building up. The thing had a strange weapon, which was attached to his fingers; sharp blades for each finger. He plunged a hand into my shoulder, tearing through flesh and bone, blood drenching my body. The other ninja was approaching. I jerked away, thrusting a dagger into the freak's hand, pinning him to the tree. My sword planted itself in the other ninja's heart. Before he died, the ninja tugged at a rope and a bright light filled the air. The explosion blew apart trees and made a clearing in the dense forest. I felt the light filling my eyes, burning into my mind, filling my body with strange warmth. Hate. I was sprinting, away from the explosion and into a clearing where a wooden hut stood. A muscular man with a bread stood in front of the hut, sneering. "Come on then, Battousai." And we fought. He attacked me again and again; I knew I was losing. I flung my frail body at him and he simply flung me away. He stabbed me a few times with the dagger in his hand. I stumbled, losing blood fast. I was dying. I could feel it. My breathing became shallower and it was more and more difficult for me to get me after I've been knocked down. Everything was moving; shifting in front of me in speaks of the white of the snow and the red of blood. "Tomoe. Tomoe." her name rang in my head. Again. Again. Again. I was thrown to the ground. I only had one last chance. I gathered the last remaining energy I had, pulsing within me. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu!!" I screamed. I leapt into the air, soaring in the sky. I could feel the wind, how it lifted my body up, higher and higher. I dropped down. Swooping down on him. I landed in front of him and brought my sword crashing down. I felt warm blood rushing over my hands, splattering onto me. I looked up and my heart stopped beating. Tomoe fell to the ground a few seconds before the man did. I dropped to my knees, watching a dark red stain spread slowly on Tomoe's white dress. A long gash cut down from her left shoulder.through her heart. A sob escaped me. I crawled towards her, clutching her head in my hands, rocking through and fro. "Oh god.d-don't die." I was crying for the first time I could remember. Crying. She opened her eyes and smiled at me. Her face was blurry through my tears. "T-tomoe." I whispered. My tears fell onto her face, mixing with the blood. Another drop fell. "T-tomoe." I cried harder, sobbing so hard my whole body shook. "Don't cry." she stared at me, her face as beautiful as ever, even with the blood. She lifted her hand and I noticed that she was holding her knife in her hand. She pressed it against my face and neatly sliced another line across the one I already had. There was now a cross scar on my face. I only cried, letting the blood trickle from the wound. "It's better this way." her voice was growing fainter. She was dying. "N-o." I repeated. Refusing to think that I had killed her. Killed my wife. "Please remember me." she stroked my cheek one last time and her hand fell. Her blood mixed with the snow on the ground, turning the snow a dark red. She took a last shuddering breath and. was no more. "But you'll never know, what I feel inside because there's no way that I know to say how much I love you." "TOMOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I screamed and screamed and hugged her cooling body to me, crying my heart out. It was then I realized she smelt like white plums. 


End file.
